Attention as Its Own Answer

I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention.

Attention is not a reaching toward something distant. It is a settling into what is already here. Notice how your breath meets the back of your throat. Notice the weight of your hands. This morning, attention means stopping the habit of half-listening to yourself. It means watching one thought arrive without naming it good or bad. Prayer, maybe, is just this: the willingness to be present to what is real, without needing to fix it or understand it first.